The football history of the Ohio State University Buckeyes is held in high esteem by both the regional Ohio community and the multitudes of Ohio State University fans spread throughout the world. The Ohio State University is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and with 60,000 students at any given time, there are proud Buckeye fans who are lining up at a breakneck pace. These loyal fans of the show disperse among the masses, preaching to the uniformed officers about the majestic ups and downs (mostly ups and downs) that together make up the football history of their alma mater. Ohio State University (commonly known as Ohio State or simply OSU) has 425,000 living alumni.
Ohio State University’s first football team took the field in 1890 before football was a traditional fall sport and the opening game was played in May. Later that year, football returned in the fall and a tradition was born in the area for early fall parties. With nowhere else to go, after suffering a 64-0 thrashing in their home opener, the opening defeat was thankfully not a harbinger of things to come. Still, the early road was rocky for the first few years as OSU hit a significant bump in the form of a layoff season of 1897 in which the team only had 1 win against 7 losses. The first meeting with the now hated rival, the University of Michigan Wolverines, occurred in the same season when the team from Ann Arbor, Michigan soundly defeated the boys from Columbus, Ohio, with a final score of 34-0.
After the embarrassing way the football program started, the administration realized they had to do something to right the ship and the specific action they took was to hire the services of a man who became the first head coach. Hired by OSU. With the help of a professional coaching staff led by John Eckstorm, the program quickly turned things around and enjoyed its first undefeated season in the fall of 1899. The Ohio State University Buckeyes football program has enjoyed 9 seasons undefeated to date.
Despite their newfound success on the field, the Ohio State University Buckeye football program hit a truly tragic snag when a player was killed in a game as a result of a blow to the head. The death in the field occurred in 1901, and as a result, the program was barely sustained into the 20th century.
Today, more than 400,000 living OSU alumni along with countless fans around the world give thanks every fall Saturday that Ohio State Buckeyes football history did not simply stop over a hundred years ago when the mishaps of losing seasons and the tragic loss of life could have easily ended OSU football before it really started.
